Watch connoisseur offers the smartest take on the Apple Watch yet

The reaction to the Apple Watch seems to be split right down the middle. Over 9500 BGR visitors voted in the poll we hosted on our website regarding the watch’s design — the results show a roughly a 50-50 split over whether they like the watch’s design or not. The fashion world was similarly indecisive, with some designers claiming that the Apple Watch was destined for collaboration with expensive brands while others decided it was too masculine.

One group we haven’t heard from yet? Watch fans, and I don’t mean smartwatch fans. Benjamin Clymer, the founder of wristwatch publication Hodinkee, has posted his exceptionally thorough reaction to the Apple Watch after spending some time with it following the Apple keynote.

“I’m not even sure we can call it a watch,” says Clymer. “Okay, it goes on the wrist, and it happens to tell the time, but that’s about where the similarities between Apple’s just announced watch and the hand-assembled, often painstakingly finished mechanical watches we write about, and obsess over, end.”

Clymer begins by discussing what he thinks Apple got right. According to Clymer, the feel of the watch “blows away” any other analog or digital watch in the same price range. In other words, “it feels expensive.” He also appreciates the finish, the subtle difference between the 38 mm and 42 mm sizes, the personal nature of the device and Apple’s inherent respect for wristwatches.

On the other hand, Clymer knows that he will never be able to form the same emotional attachment to his Apple Watch as he would a Rolex. You won’t be passing down the Apple Watch for generations to come; you’ll be replacing it when the battery starts to fade (or version 2 launches).

So will the Apple Watch pose a threat to the watches that exist primarily to tell time? Clymer thinks it will.

“At the lower end, I believe the Apple Watch is a serious threat to those less faithful lovers of analog watches. There is a certain percentage of the population that simply doesn’t care if they’re wearing a watch of any great manufacturing process and the Apple Watch will appeal to them, if it works as advertised.”